Fans could return to grounds by September, reveals League Two chairman

The 2020/21 League Two season could begin in September with some fans potentially allowed back into grounds again, according to one EFL chairman.

It has been suggested that it might not be until January 2021 at the earliest when supporters will be able to attend games again due to the coronavirus pandemic.

But Cobblers chairman Kelvin Thomas said there had been 'encouraging noises' about fans returning before then earlier this week, and those words were echoed by Scunthorpe's Peter Swann, though grounds are unlikely to be full to allow for social distancing.

The Iron chairman told GrimsbyLive: “The beginning of August will be difficult to start the new season, so you are probably looking at September at the earliest which is another three months.

“That is going to be tough for clubs to survive. If it’s the beginning of September, most clubs in this division will need money in July to help get us through until then.

“We are hoping it is September and there is also talk of some semblance of crowds coming back if we can get our stadium in a position to do that. We will work as hard as we can in the coming months to have something in place so we can keep some sort of distance between the fans.

“At least if we can get 2,000 in, or even 2,500 in, it’s a big help – and that is a possibility. It is something we have really got to look at.

“We have got the car parking space to have one every other space to keep people apart. I am sure we can put barriers up and systems in place so people can into the ground okay.

“We are going to work as hard as we can but, at the moment, we are just sitting here haemorrhaging money because nobody is making a decision and that is frustrating for us."

Swann aslo admitted he feels 'frustrated' by the constant hold-up to finishing the current season.

He added: “We are waiting to see what happens, but the frustration is at the time it has taken to get where we are now.

“I felt we could have done this very early on. There was never going to be an opportunity for League Two to get back and play because of the cost involved.

“The National League made their decision very early because of financial reasons, and perhaps we should have done that.”